


We All Have Our Demons (but sometimes they're borrowed from us)

by theauthorish



Category: ONEUS (Band), ONEWE (Band)
Genre: Demons, Humor, NO ONE KNOWS, Other, hyungu is an angel, onewe friendship!, seoho is a demon but hes a Nice demon, summoning a demon for reasons, why is giwook summoning a demon?, yes theyre all still idols, yonghoon deserves an award
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:13:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24451888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theauthorish/pseuds/theauthorish
Summary: I wrote this for the oneshots for one contest! it was sort of a joke prompt when I thought of it, but I thought it would be fun, so here it is!In other more important news, please please please remember all of you to stay safe and take care of each other! Times are getting so scary right now. To my black and poc readers, we will get through this if we watch each other's backs, and help the right voices be heard! To my white readers, please be aware of your privilege and your platform and USE it. We can't stay silent. We can't be complacent. George Floyd's family, and all victims' families, deserve justice, and shouldn't have to be afraid for their lives just because they exist. Sign the petitions, speak to your representatives, and do what you can.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 65





	We All Have Our Demons (but sometimes they're borrowed from us)

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for the oneshots for one contest! it was sort of a joke prompt when I thought of it, but I thought it would be fun, so here it is!
> 
> In other more important news, please please please remember all of you to stay safe and take care of each other! Times are getting so scary right now. To my black and poc readers, we will get through this if we watch each other's backs, and help the right voices be heard! To my white readers, please be aware of your privilege and your platform and USE it. We can't stay silent. We can't be complacent. George Floyd's family, and all victims' families, deserve justice, and shouldn't have to be afraid for their lives just because they exist. Sign the petitions, speak to your representatives, and do what you can.

"Giwook— Giwook,  _ no _ ," Yonghoon says, emphatic, trying to grab at the book in Giwook's hands.

"Giwook,  _ yes _ ," Giwook replies, ducking out of Yonghoon's reach and dodging around Hyungu to hide behind Harin. Harin will protect him.

Yonghoon groans as Harin does exactly that— exaggeratedly, with big, clumsy gestures and a stupid face that makes Giwook and Dongmyeong alike crack up as they see it in the mirror. Even Hyungu is snickering quietly into his palm, as Yonghoon struggles to get past Harin's wildly flailing limbs.

"Giwook! We are  _ not  _ summoning a fucking demon in our dorm room!" Yonghoon yells, making another unsuccessful grab for the book.

“We’re just gonna  _ try _ ! It might not even work, chill, hyung!” Giwook stays firmly rooted behind Harin, pressed up against him as much as possible, book sandwiched between his chest and the drummer’s back. His fingers curl tightly in Harin’s hoodie.

Yonghoon casts a desperate glance at Dongmyeong. “Dong—”

“Oh no,” says Dongmyeong, before Yonghoon can even finish saying his name. “No, nonono.  _ No _ . I am not touching that thing. What if I get cursed?! What will I do then!? I don’t want to die! I’m too young for that.”

Yonghoon stops wrestling with Harin to glare. “So it’s fine if  _ I _ do?” he demands, only to get a shrug from Dongmyeong. Giwook snickers. “Won’t it be scarier if they actually do it? Help me stop them!”

“That’s why you should get good and defeat Harin! Boss level! Yonghoon-hyung, fighting!” Dongmyeong pumps a fist in the air, and Yonghoon rolls his eyes.

“You know what, fine, fuck it. I give up.”

Dongmyeong screeches. He makes a desperate grab at Yonghoon’s arm. “ _ What _ ?! Hyung—”

“No,” huffs Yonghoon, shaking him off. “You’re not helping, I’m getting tired, and I have actual things to do, like go meet the managers to talk about the comeback and promotions. Have fun.” He pauses midway through pulling on his shoes. “If you succeed and something happens, you all are responsible, not me. Have it all cleaned up by the time I get back at four. Or at least most of it.”

“Yes boss!” chirps Giwook, with a mocking salute that goes ignored by Yonghoon, but mirrored by Harin.

Nothing is gonna happen. Everything is gonna be fine. It probably won’t work, and even if it does, if they follow all the instructions they'll be safe, and maybe Giwook can strike a good deal with it for nicer gear and space for their band. Or a tour. Or more inspiration for all of them. Or...

Yonghoon shuts and locks the door behind him, and Dongmyeong collapses very dramatically to the couch, wailing about being unloved and his impending doom that he  _ does not _ deserve.

“Myeong-ah,” says Hyungu, softly tapping at Dongmyeong’s leg with his foot. “You’re being too loud. The walls aren’t very thick.”

“Oh. Right.” Dongmyeong flashes a sheepish peace sign, and then resumes his lamenting, but softer.

Giwook rolls his eyes. 

“Okay,” he declares, tugging open the book to the page he’d marked earlier. “We need candles, and… tar? No, wait, it says any black, viscous liquid. I have some black paint in my room.”

“I’ll get it,” says Harin, disappearing down the tiny hallway.

“Get one of those tarps he uses when he paints things, too,” calls Hyungu after him. “If we ruin the dorm floor we’ll be in trouble.”

“‘Kay!”

As Hyungu starts pushing aside the furniture (including the sofa with Dongmyeong on it), Dongmyeong complains, “Why are you helping? I thought you didn’t want them to do it!”

“I didn’t say I didn’t want them to, I just don’t think it’s a good idea,” says Hyungu, reasonably. “I am curious though, so if they want to do it anyway…” he shrugs. He raises an eyebrow. “Why don’t you try to stop them?”

“The book might curse me!!! Weren’t you listening?”

Harin returns then, with the paint and the tarp, and Giwook takes them and helps him set up. 

“Giwook isn’t cursed,” points out Hyungu, digging around in the kitchen for the emergency candles. They’ll buy more next time. Or steal some from Oneus next door, probably, Giwook thinks, as Hyungu hands them to him. There’s exactly five, just enough. “He’s been holding the book all day. He was practically cuddling it earlier to keep it from Yonghoon-hyung. He’s fine.”

“No he’s not!” protests Dongmyeong. “Because ‘fine’ people don’t summon demons!”

“Maybe not,” Hyungu concedes. “But he looked for that book so he could summon the demon, he doesn’t want to summon the demon because of the book— that means whatever’s wrong with him is what’s always been wrong with him. It’s not a curse, Dongmyeong-ah.” He smiles sweetly when Giwook pouts at him for the barb.

Mean.

“We need to paint this symbol,” instructs Giwook, laying the book open on the side of the tarp so they can see. “I’ll do it. I think we forgot to get the lighter though.”

“On it,” says Harin. He comes back a moment later with the lighter in hand, as promised. Giwook’s too busy trying to copy the pentagram just right, so he’s grateful Hyungu takes it on his behalf. Dongmyeong just whimpers quietly, peeking through his fingers like a child at a horror movie.

“Why don’t you just leave?” Harin suggests, not unkindly, but a genuine offer. “That way you won’t die.”

“You make it sound like he’ll die at all,” Giwook mutters, stepping back to survey his work. Satisfied, he reaches for the candles and arranges them as best he can. “He won’t. I literally just picked this up from some random flea market stall, it probably doesn’t mean anything. And if it does work, well, as long as we follow the rules, we’re safe, right?”

Hyungu shrugs.

Harin says, “I hope so.”

Dongmyeong just groans and flops harder into the couch cushions.

“Lights,” Giwook mumbles, and thankfully, Hyungu hears him and goes and switches them off, then pushes Dongmyeong’s legs aside to settle in the space beside him, watching, rather than really participating. 

That’s fine. He’d helped plenty.

Giwook lights the candles one by one. Harin has already turned the page to the chant they have to read, so as soon as Giwook sits back down, he scans over it quickly, just so he can prepare himself and not stumble over any of the words— he doesn’t want to garble them and have that kill them, later.

He and Harin nod at each other, and then start to read together.

The words aren’t too complicated, but they definitely aren’t colloquial either, so by unspoken agreement, they both go slow and careful, enunciating each syllable as clearly as they can. It gets easier, after the first few times, and soon enough Giwook’s pretty sure he could do it from memory, though he doesn’t plan to risk it.

How many times did they need to repeat this, again? Until something happened?

Giwook only realizes he’s starting to trail off when Harin elbows him pointedly. Right. Right, okay. The wondering can wait. They have to focus.

They’re so focused, in fact, that they don’t notice something is happening in the circle until Dongmyeong shrieks something, quickly muffled by what must be Hyungu. It sounds like a pillow’s been shoved in Dongmyeong’s face.

That’s kind of funny, but more importantly, when he looks up (and he was right about the pillow), he sees smoke curling up from the center of the pentagram, with no discernible source.

Holy shit?

It was  _ working _ ?

Giwook and Harin keep reading, more determined now than ever. The smoke keeps coming, rolling like fog, but contained within the circle, building and building… it’s like watching a tank be filled with water, but cooler, because it’s smoke, first of all, and second of all, there isn’t  _ actually _ any physical barrier keeping it from spilling over.

“I hope it doesn’t set off the fire alarm,” Hyungu says, quietly.

“I hope it doesn’t kill us,” Dongmyeong whines into his hands.

“Why does it smell like flowers?” Hyungu asks, rather than acknowledging Dongmyeong’s antics. “What kind of demon are you even summoning?”

Giwook shrugs in answer, still reading off the chant with Harin. He should have gotten a bottle of water for them; he’s so parched right now, it’s not even funny. 

Hyungu is right, though, Giwook realizes, as he lets himself read on autopilot long enough to notice. It smells like flowers— not overpoweringly so, but definitely noticeable. Huh. That was weird for a demon. Weren’t demons supposed to be for sins and stuff? Did sins smell like flowers?

That could be some kind of lyric, actually. Giwook files it away for later.

The circle is flooded with the sweet-smelling fog now, about six inches of it— and just as Giwook and Harin finish up what must be their 50th reading at least (to be fair, it isn’t a long chant), the smoke suddenly gets sucked back into the center, coalescing into some kind of mini whirlwind, and then there’s a man, standing there, except—

“Seoho-hyung?” squeaks Dongmyeong, because that is, indeed, who the smoke reveals.

Seoho’s eyes are wide and confused, brow furrowed deep as he glances between all the Onewe members, who are equally puzzled. It's just something that  _ looks _ like Seoho, right? Not actually Seoho?

It has to be. It’s a  _ demon _ . It  _ magically appeared _ in their pentagram. 

But… it looks exactly like Seoho, wearing one of Seoho’s favorite hoodies and loose practice shorts, fading auburn hair falling over its forehead. Even the mannerisms are the same, the corners of its mouth twitching as it fights not to laugh awkwardly at the situation, eyes searching for something among them—

“Why are you summoning a demon, Giwook-ah?” it asks, when it spots the book under Giwook’s fingers still. It smiles, almost bemused, and it looks  _ exactly _ like Seoho, it's uncanny.

“How do you know my name?” fires back Giwook, feeling surprisingly calm. Maybe it’s because it looks familiar, but Giwook isn’t scared of the demon at all.

“I’m not that bad a hyung,” not-Seoho huffs, stretching upward, then dropping into a cross-legged sit on the floor.

“You aren’t our hyung though!” Dongmyeong yelps, from where he’s somehow scrambled behind the sofa.

“That’s mean,” sniffs not-Seoho. “I thought we were friends.”

“We’re friends with Seoho-hyung,” Hyungu answers, carefully. “But you aren’t him, are you?”

The demon blinks. “What, you think a demon will just magically know about someone you know and take that shape when you summon it?” It shakes its head, snickering. “That’s so difficult to do, you know, pulling thoughts out of people’s heads, especially when they aren’t offering it up. Besides, if I was trying to trick you that way, wouldn’t I have chosen someone much closer to you?” It gives the room another cursory glance. “Yonghoon-hyung isn’t here. If I were trying to manipulate you, wouldn’t I have chosen him?”

They consider that for a bit.

“Maybe. But why would Seoho-hyung be a demon?” Harin posits.

“I’m not answering anymore questions until you answer mine. Why are you summoning me?” Not-Seoho crosses his arms over his chest. “You need to tell me anyway, if you want to make a deal, but you have to hurry. I have practice.”

“Practice to eat us?” demands Dongmyeong. He sounds a little hysterical.

Giwook figures it’s safe to leave the circle under the others’ supervision long enough to grab Dongmyeong a glass of water. He feels a little guilty for scaring him so badly, and anyway, the kitchen is, like, three steps away, so it’s not too far.

“I am  _ not _ going to eat you,” scoffs not-Seoho. “I’m not that kind of demon. I feed off energy and normal food, not flesh.”

“If you really are Seoho, though, your definition of normal food is weird,” Hyungu points out, as Giwook hands Dongmyeong the glass of water and urges him gently to drink.

“Thanks,” Dongmyeong murmurs. 

Giwook nods, and then returns to his spot.

Not-Seoho apparently decides to ignore Hyungu. “Answer me already. Please? I was in the middle of practice, like, actually mid-choreography, and Youngjo-hyung is gonna kill me… we’re juggling both Road to Kingdom and our comeback— come on, you  _ know _ this— have  _ mercy _ ,” Seoho— no,  _ not _ -Seoho pleads. “And before you say anything ridiculous, I’m not a very powerful demon, so I can’t make you rich. And I will  _ not _ touch music charts or promotions.”

Giwook throws his hands up. “So what can you do?”

“Plenty, thanks. I’m a main vocal, I can tumble, I can—”

“Stop pretending to be Seoho already!” Dongmyeong demands, though he seems calmer at least. “It’s not funny, and we aren’t falling for it.”

“I’m not pretending because I  _ am _ Seoho!” yells the demon, banging a fist against the floor in frustration. The candles flicker dangerously, and everyone freezes, demon included. It sighs. “Sorry. It’s just stressful, I told Youngjo-hyung we should—” he pauses. “Call Youngjo-hyung,” he orders.

“What?” Harin asks, blinking. “Why?”

“I’ll prove I’m me. And then you’ll let me out of this summoning circle so I can practice, and then if you  _ really _ want a contract we can work it out when I’m not dead from practice and stuff.”

“We’re not letting you out,” Giwook says, shaking his head. “You could hurt us.”

“I wouldn’t.”

“You say that, but doesn’t mean you’re being honest.”

The demon groans. “Fine, don’t believe me. But call Youngjo-hyung, you’ll see.”

“See what?” Giwook raises an eyebrow.

“That he’s stressed because I suddenly vanished in the middle of our Warrior’s Descendant practice.” Not-Seoho shrugs. “Or don’t, but sooner or later they’re going to come looking for me, and—”

“Giwook-ah,” Hyungu mumbles, coming over and squatting next to him. “I think it might be a good idea.” His phone is already out, held so that not-Seoho can’t read the screen.

_ you call youngjo, and well have dongmyeong leave the dorm and call dongju, so that the demon doesnt know, just in case hes planning on faking the call somehow. i already showed dongmyeong this text. _

Giwook raises his eyebrows. “You really think it’s worth calling for?”

Hyungu nods, swiping to the keypad screen and handing his phone over. “I’m going to take Dongmyeong for some fresh air,” he announces, standing and pulling Dongmyeong with him. “Don’t let my phone get fried, I’m too broke to replace it.”

“Felt that,” says Harin, solemnly, ever the comedic relief. He nods gravely. “We’ll take care of it.”

“Just call already, please,” says not-Seoho. The circle isn’t big enough for it to sprawl out fully, but it does it best, shuffling around until it’s on his back, knees pulled up. It starts humming, occasionally singing snatches of lyrics; whatever the thing is, it’s doing a pretty good job imitating their hyung.

Well, Giwook figures there’s no harm. If Dongmyeong calls his brother, they’ll find out if it’s true or not anyway. And whatever the result, they don’t actually have to do anything; they haven’t made any promises. He scrolls through Hyungu’s contacts to find the right one, and then dials.

It takes a few rings, and Giwook’s almost certain they’re gonna hit voicemail and either have to redial or give up— not that it matters to him, but he feels kind of bad for Oneus on the off-chance that the demon’s claims are true, and they’re holding him back from such an important practice. But, in the end, Youngjo does answer. “Hello?” He sounds breathless. “Hyungu-ah, what is it? I’m a little—”

“Hyung,” Giwook says, before Youngjo can do something like hang up. He glances back at not-Seoho, who’s making a gesture like,  _ you see _ . Well, Youngjo certainly sounds frazzled, Giwook will give the demon that, but that doesn’t mean—”

“Ah, Giwook-ah, why do you… no, never mind. It’s not important,” Youngjo says from the other end. Giwook can hear Keonhee squawking something in the background, quickly followed by… is that Hwanwoong yelling about candles? “Hold on a second.” Youngjo yells something, too distant for Giwook to catch. Giwook can hear some more movement on the other end, and then Youngjo’s voice is coming nearer, so he must be picking up the phone—

“—if he’s been summoned,” says Youngjo, finishing whatever he’d been telling his members.

“Summoned, hyung? What do you mean?” Giwook asks, deciding to play clueless and see what Youngjo says.

That plan, of course, goes out the window, because not-Seoho yells, “IT WAS ONEWE HYUNG! THEY SUMMONED ME. I AM LITERALLY AT THEIR DORM.”

Harin jolts at the sudden yell, knocks into one of the candles— it doesn’t escape not-Seoho’s notice, Giwook knows, because he sees the demon’s eyes flash and then focus on where the candle is wobbling. The candle does fall; but not-Seoho… doesn’t move. It stays deliberately still, just stares at the candle until Harin realizes what’s happened two seconds later.

“Fuck,” swears Harin, righting the candle. He’s also stomping out a little flame that’s caught onto the tarp.

“ _ Seoho _ ? Do  _ you _ have Seoho?” demands Youngjo, though Giwook’s a little preoccupied trying to tell if the fire had burned through the tarp to respond.

God, Yonghoon would kill them if he was here. Good thing he left.

“ _ Giwook-ah _ !”

“Y-yes!” Giwook yelps. Fuck. Right. Youngjo-hyung. “Sorry. Harin… almost burned our dorm floor,” he admits sheepishly, because he figures the cat’s out of the bag, for both of them. That, and considering not— no, wait, did that mean it was real-Seoho? But Giwook didn’t know for sure yet...

… Considering that  _ maybe _ -Seoho had had a chance to escape and blatantly let it slide, he must have been serious about not hurting them, if nothing else.

“Why did he almost burn your floor?” asks Youngjo, carefully. “Don’t tell me you were trying to summon a demon,” he continues, tone just falling short of joking. It’s almost like he’s hoping for a denial. “Please tell me you didn’t summon Seoho.”

“Well, funny story, we—”

“THEY DID. THAT’S WHY I’M HERE. AND NOT AT PRACTICE. DON’T KILL ME I DIDN’T DO IT ON PURPOSE THIS TIME.”

Giwook glares.

Apparently-Seoho just shrugs. “I really want to perfect that stage, you know. And I can’t do that now because...” He gestures vaguely at the circle around him.

Youngjo sighs. “Giwook-ah… never mind. Not now. Please let him go. We’ll talk about you summoning a demon later.”

“Wait— wait. It’s really Seoho-hyung? Seoho-hyung’s a  _ demon _ ?”

“Is he— Giwook-ah, he’s literally in front of you, I’m assuming? He appeared in that form? Demons don’t typically show up in a fake form. They don’t have time. The most they can do is shift right away and play off whatever you caught of their true form. And it’s very difficult for them to pick out a form just based on your connections and thoughts, they can usually only do something basic, like a type of girl, or an old person. Not a specific identity.”

That was…

“Why are you being so matter-of-fact about this?” Giwook asks, incredulous.

Youngjo clicks his tongue impatiently. “Comes with the territory of having a demon member. Now, Giwook-ah, I  _ love _ you, you know that, but I need our member back ten minutes ago. Please release him.”

“I—”

The front door flies open. “OHMYGOD??? IT’S REALLY YOU, SEOHO-HYUNG?!”

“Dongmyeong!” Giwook complains, wincing at the volume.

Youngjo laughs quietly. “I’m gonna hang up. Give Seoho back please. Tell Dongmyeong to be gentle.”

The line goes dead.

“Hyunggggg I’m so sorryyyyyy!” wails Dongmyeong, dashing into the circle headfirst to wrap Seoho in a hug— well, more like jump on him, since Seoho is still lying on the ground, but close enough. “I’m sorry I said you’d eat us I didn’t mean it!”

Hyungu finally appears in the doorway. At Harin’s raised eyebrow, he says, “What, you thought I was going to chase after him while he ran like a madman?” He shakes his head. Giwook sympathizes. Dongmyeong has way too much energy when he wants to have it. “But in case you needed my confirmation, we talked to Dongju. That really is Seoho.”

“He yelled at me,” pouts Dongmyeong, from where he’s still firmly settled on top of Seoho, who’s swatting at him playfully to no avail. “Hyung, he  _ yelled _ at me. Like a meanie.”

“He yelled at both of us,” says Hyungu. “And we kind of deserved it. They’re stressed enough as it is, so we should let him go.”

“Yeah,” Seoho mutters, finally convincing Dongmyeong to let him breathe, chest heaving. “You should let me go.”

Giwook shrugs, and starts blowing out the candles. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“How was I supposed to?” Seoho tosses back, as Harin plucks the candles from their spots and puts them aside to cool. The usable ones will be returned to the drawer later. “The only reason my members believe it is because I did stuff at the dorm, not always on purpose.”

“Are you old?” asks Harin. “Like ancient old?”

“Wh— no! I’m exactly the age I say I am.”

“What kind of stuff can you do?” Giwook asks next, because he’s curious.

“I can— wait, not now. Later. If I get into it now you’ll wanna see and I have to  _ go _ .” Seoho grins sweetly, if a little awkwardly. “Yeah, so… disrupt the circle, please? I think the paint might be too dry, but if you can cut it or smudge it… or just paint a section of it a different color…”

Harin hands Giwook a bottle of red paint and a brush.

/////

“Wait, hold on just one moment, you’re all telling me that you did it? You summoned a demon?” Yonghoon demands, staring at the four of them in their dorm, sitting around their tiny table laden with fried chicken.

“Who said that?” says Giwook, fluttering his lashes as innocently and cutely as possible because sometimes that gets Yonghoon to be more lenient. “We didn’t say that. We just said welcome home.”

“The chicken on the table said that,” replies Yonghoon, dryly. “That’s the apology chicken.”

“What if it’s just chicken chicken?” offers Harin, a beat too late because he only does it when Giwook elbows him in the gut. Why does Giwook have to be the brains all the time? He should start charging for his services.

Yonghoon just raises an eyebrow. “This much? In my favorite flavor? Which half of you only tolerate? Unlikely.” He rests his hands on his hips and does his best to look stern. “So what happened? Is anyone dying? Do I need to learn to be a demon-slayer or a priest?”

Dongmyeong starts giggling quietly— probably at the image of Yonghoon being a  _ priest _ of all things. Hyungu’s lips curl a bit at the edges, but otherwise, he looks his usual laid-back self. He’s definitely also amused though. 

“Well, the thing is, the demon—”

“Is me.”

Yonghoon screams as Seoho pops into existence just behind him with a tiny puff of smoke, cackling when Yonghoon literally scrambles for the door, hand to his heart.

“You— what—”

“Oh my  _ god _ ,” Giwook gasps out, in between snorts. “Best demon summoning  _ ever _ .”

“I can’t believe you summoned me and that’s all you wanted. You know, you didn’t need a demon contract to get my help with a prank,” Seoho says, with a roll of his eyes, though he’s still grinning pretty wide, so…

Yonghoon is still sucking in deep, shaky breaths from where he’s curled on the floor, though, so maybe they should be a little worried. “Hyung? You okay?” Giwook calls.

“Fine,” pants out Yonghoon, stumbling to his feet. “Fine. I’m— fine. But how did he— was he hiding in here?” 

“What, you mean me?” Seoho asks, pointing at himself with a… vaguely still smoking finger. Huh. Giwook wonders if he knows he’s doing that. “No. I just appeared. Demon magic.”

Harin stares. “Did you miss the flower-scented magic smoke?” He waves a hand pointedly. “It’s literally still floating around.”

“Isn’t that just the candles?” Yonghoon retorts, frowning.

Dongmyeong has morphed into a seal, pretty much, laughing soundlessly and clapping his hands overly loud, rolling around on his back. Giwook has to bite back a laugh of his own at the sight; if he starts, he’ll never stop, and then who would answer Yonghoon?

Maybe Hyungu would… no, wait. Hyungu’s got his phone out and— how long has he had that thing? Did he record the whole thing? And no one noticed? 

Damn, he’s good.

“Hyung, we used the emergency candles. Why would our emergency candles be scented? We aren’t rich.”

Harin just hops to his feet, marches into the kitchen, and brandishes the half-used candles as proof.

“Oh. Okay.” Yonghoon blinks, the implication of that settling in… “Wait. Seoho’s a demon? No, wait, never mind that, that’s… whatever.”

“Hey!” protests the demon in question. “It’s not—”

“More importantly,” continues Yonghoon, talking over him. “You used our  _ emergency _ candles? This wasn’t an emergency! Now what will we do in an  _ actual _ emergency? Light Dongmyeong on fire?”

“Why me!?” Dongmyeong also goes ignored. Sad.

Giwook shrugs. “We could light Harin’s drumsticks inst—”

“Don’t even think about it,” Harin mutters, glaring. “I’ll set  _ you _ on fire.”

“Sure, sounds good.”

“You—”

“Wait, hold on a second.” Seoho waves his arms around to get their attention, laughing somewhat confusedly. The bickering stops, and they all turn to face him, eyebrows raised. “That’s it? That’s the only reaction I get?” he complains. “Yonghoon-hyung, shouldn’t you be more freaked out or something? I’m a demon. I have powers. I can  _ magically appear at will _ .” He raises his eyebrows. “Aren’t you like— concerned? At all?”

Yonghoon shakes his head, swatting a hand at the air dismissively. “Nah. Didn’t think you were a demon of all things, but I knew  _ something _ had to be off about you. You’re too smiley.”

Seoho gasps. “I am—” He disappears before he can finish his sentence.

Onewe blinks at where he’d been, and the little curl of smoke left in his wake.

“It does smell nice,” Hyungu mumbles, with a shrug, tucking away his phone. “We should summon him more often.”

“Honestly...” says Yonghoon, snickering softly at poor Seoho being cut off. He sighs. “At least I know he wouldn’t hurt you, but… he mentioned a contract?” He stops, glancing at the cooling chicken on their table. “I’m guessing the apology is for the prank, huh?”

“Bingo!” Dongmyeong smiles cutely, flashing little finger hearts at him. “Sorry hyung.”

“What did you trade?”

“Me,” Giwook replies, deciding he’s had quite enough of waiting to eat and plucking a piece for himself. He takes a bite and bites back a grin at Yonghoon’s expression of disbelief.

“He means,” Hyungu says, with a kick at Giwook’s ankle (ouch?), “that he traded his help with a song. Production or music, cover or original… Seoho-hyung can choose when he wants it.”

Yonghoon sighs in relief. “Oh. All right. Honestly— you live to give me headaches, don’t you?” He collapses next to Giwook, dragging him in for a half-hug, half-chokehold, and nuzzling at his cheek. Giwook only puts up a token protest, whining, but not really fighting back. He owes Yonghoon this much, after all. “You’re lucky I love you.”

And… “Yeah.”

He really is. They all are.

/////

“Whatever happened to Seoho-hyung?” asks Harin later, as they’re cleaning up the remains of their dinner.

“Oh. That. Oneus summoned him. I was video-calling with them because they wanted to prank him too,” Hyungu explains, gathering up the last of the trash. 

“Oh.”

So that’s what happened. Giwook snorts.

Hyungu just goes to throw the garbage down the chute.

**Author's Note:**

> I made a discord for weus writers! feel free to join!
> 
> https://discord.gg/rdBGCGU


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